Gender, Media, and Politics: A Comparative Analysis of Gendered Mediation of Women Politicians in the Asia-Pacific Region

With only a few exceptions, empirical investigation of countries in Africa, Asia-Pacific, or the Middle East has been lacking in the gender and media scholarship. A case in point is that the latest and indeed, the most comprehensive, meta-analysis on gendered coverage of female politicians included only two non-western countries out of 90 cases (Van der Pas & Aaldering, 2020). To overcome the regional overconcentration in the field, the paper conducts a comprehensive meta-analysis of published empirical works concerning the gendered media coverage theme in the Asia-Pacific region. It demonstrates how the gendered media portrayal of women legislators differ from established western democracies vis-à-vis conventional comparison points (e.g. coverage quantity, tone, private/public matters, feminine/masculine traits, or feminine/masculine policy areas). Going further, with examples drawn from developed East Asian democracies, the paper showcases new theorizing potentials in the gender and media field based on factors largely overlooked in the existing literature such as the effect of mixed electoral rules or geopolitical political cleavages intersecting with gender issues.